Marathon Players Share Their Initial Thoughts As Xbox Alpha Goes Live

Subscribe to Pure Xbox on YouTube29k Today's the day for the Marathon Closed Alpha on Xbox and other platforms, with the test kicking off for anyone lucky enough to receive an invite via the Marathon Discord server - and players have been sharing their initial reviews already. Based on what we're coming across so far, it feels like there are mixed opinions about what Marathon is serving up, with some really enjoying the gameplay and others feeling like it needs more time in the oven before it's released. Here are just a few initial thoughts we've spotted via the official Marathon Reddit community: Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon Commentby u/Shabolt_ from discussion in Marathon When you compare these initial thoughts alongside the critics' impressions that went live last week, those critics seemed to be a bit more positive on the whole, with a fair few suggesting that it could end up proving a mega-hit. Will that be the case? Who knows. What we do know is that Marathon is faring extremely well on Twitch in the first few hours of the Closed Alpha, currently sitting as the third most popular game on the platform behind Oblivion Remastered and GTA 5. Time will tell whether it's able to maintain its success beyond the initial hype. Marathon officially releases for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on September 23rd, 2025. Looking forward to Marathon on Xbox? Let us know down in the comments section below. 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